Providing a patient is healing well from a properly-performed Brazilian butt lift, 6 weeks after surgery they can sit normally without any restrictions. Restrictions that must be in place throughout those 6 weeks—such as the use of special pillows, limiting pressure on the buttocks, and spending as little time seated as possible—are no longer necessary 6 weeks after surgery. The fat transferred into the buttocks during BBL surgery will have taken hold by this time, though some of it is inevitably reabsorbed by the body.
The purpose of the special recovery restrictions that must be in place after BBL surgery is that they allow for the new healthy fatty tissue that was added to the buttocks during surgery to acquire viable blood vessels and become able to continue surviving.
If patients sit “normally” or with no restrictions too early after surgery, they risk putting too much pressure on the buttocks, harming the newly transferred fat cells, and limiting blood circulation to the buttocks.
“Avoid sitting or lying on the buttock for 2 to 8 weeks.”
Buttock Augmentation: S-Curve, by Drs. Nathaniel L. Villanueva and Ashkan Ghavami
For the best BBL results, patients should do their very best to refrain from sitting without the surgeon-advised standard recovery restrictions in place too soon.
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Sitting restrictions after BBL surgery
Patients who get Brazilian butt lift surgery will typically be advised not to sit on their buttocks as they normally would for a bare minimum of two weeks. Four weeks is a more likely, and usually safer, suggestion.
The less direct pressure applied to the buttocks during BBL recovery, the better. The less time spent seated, the better.
Exercise should be avoided for a minimum of 3-4 weeks, though walking is encouraged as a necessary part of proper recovery. Walking regularly helps to improve blood flow in the treated area as well as the rest of the body, and contributes to lymphatic drainage.
How to sit during BBL recovery
While healing from a Brazilian butt lift, do not sit directly on your buttocks. Instead, use a special pillow created for use during this recovery period. The pillow allows for the pressure that would typically be applied to the buttocks to instead be applied to the upper thighs and legs.
Will it feel awkward and uncomfortable? Yes. It is a good pain, since it helps you heal better and faster and leaves you with better results from your procedure? Absolutely.
What to do if you sit too early after BBL surgery
While sitting is not advised throughout the recovery period, it does sometimes occur. Simply do your best to prevent it from happening again. If you absolutely must sit down without your BBL recovery pillow, do so on as soft of a surface as possible, such as a pillow or cushion that allows the butt to maintain as round of a shape as possible. Then, use whatever is available to you to transfer the pressure off of your buttocks and onto your legs and thighs. Pressing your back up against the vertical surface of a couch or wall, and placing your hands on your legs (right above your knees) is also a safe and viable way to rest shortly if you find yourself without your BBL recovery pillow.
While going to the restroom after BBL surgery, a towel can be rolled up to form a large cushion (a bit like a pool noodle but stronger/less yielding) and this can be placed below the upper thighs.
Three weeks after surgery, things get easier
Although the recovery period from BBL surgery is often never totally comfortable, it does get easier and easier the farther you are from your surgery day. By about three weeks after their surgery, most patients have gotten used to the slight discomforts they must endure in order to get the best BBL results possible.
About three weeks after your surgery, you can usually begin to return to some of your routine activities, although sitting with no restrictions will typically only be smart to do 6 weeks after surgery.
Why can’t I sit normally after BBL surgery?
During BBL surgery, fat is removed from areas of the body where there is an excess of it and added to areas of the buttocks where there is a perceived lack of it. During this process, the transferred fat cells will do one of two things: Thrive or die.
If you sit too soon after BBL surgery, you make it harder for the fat cells to thrive. Sitting may damage them or even encourage your body to get rid of them.
Sitting down directly on your buttocks after surgery also reduces the amount of blood flow and blood circulation, which further impacts the newly transferred fat cells. (Sitting always does this, but after BBL surgery we’re especially cautious of it.)
Can I sit normally 2 weeks after BBL surgery?
Some surgeons do suggest that patients can sit down normally “within 2-4 works of your BBL surgery.” If your experienced and board-certified BBL surgeon tells you it is safe and non-harmful to do so, by all means go ahead and be seated!
This two-weeks advice, however, is actually very, very rare and when it is given, it is usually in the form of an all-inclusive and heavily qualified “most patients are advised not to…sit for 2-4 weeks after surgery.” (Notice the four week timeframe that’s also being suggested?)
In reality, however, two weeks is a very short time for your butt to recover and for new fat cells to make themselves at home, and your surgeon will likely suggest you refrain from sitting for 4 or more weeks.
Patients for whom the Brazilian butt lift is too daunting usually decide to get a nonsurgical BBL or a butt lift to help them reach their aesthetic goals.
